I am still busy doing more pruning. Now that most of the shrubs are in leaf, I can see the dead stalks and cut them out, which makes room for new growth. Everything is showing life except for the four crape myrtles. I know that they are always late risers, but really, it’s almost May. It would be surprising if they all died, but not impossible.
One dogwood and two caryopteris are dead, a yellow twig dogwood and a weigela are struggling, but alive. One pleasant surprise is a volunteer chestnut tree growing near the road, but under the utility wires. I will have to move it to prevent it from being trimmed by the utility crews. I’m deciding where it should go, depending on what dies and whether the spot is roomy enough for a tree to grow.
New blooms: yellow lamium, purple lamium, Virginia blue bells, blueberry.
Purple lamium. These are not simple flowers. The purple above and the yellow below have an umbrella-like upper petal with the pollen on its underside, and a landing platform petal below for the pollinator seeking nectar from the center well.
Yellow lamium. Two flowers in profile and one full face. The pollinator carries pollen from flower to flower on its back.
Blueberry flower is a white bell, similar to andromeda, leucothoe, and lily-of-the-valley.
Virginia blue bell, another woodland ephemeral.
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